How Firefly Fans Saved Free Speech On Campus

Alex Knapp
,
Forbes Staff
I write about the future of science, technology, and culture.

Here's a great video for fans of the TV show Firefly, free speech, or both - this tells the story of how the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) worked to defend the free speech rights of a professor who had a poster of a quote from the show Firefly removed from his office door because it was deemed a "threat." Suffice to say, Firefly fans didn't take this lying down, nor did free speech advocates.

Here's the description from FIRE:

The video, which features an interview with legendary author Neil Gaiman, is a lighthearted look at how the University of Wisconsin-Stout backed down from its censorship of Professor James Miller's posters, one featuring a quote from the science fiction show Firefly, and the other condemning fascism. Stout stood by its actions until FIRE's advocacy campaign on Miller's behalf inspired Gaiman, along with Firefly actors Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin, to take to Twitter to encourage their millions of followers to contact the university with their support of free speech.